To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: AAAAI: Patients with Cedar Pollen Allergy Improve with Fexofenadine URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/214CBE.htm Doctor's Guide March 4, 2002
By Jill Stein Special to DG News
NEW YORK, NY -- March 4, 2002 -- New data suggest that fexofenadine 60 mg bid quickly and effectively suppresses the symptoms of pollenosis during the Japanese cedar pollen season.
Dr. Hideto Asaka and associates at Dokkyo University in Tochigi, Japan, presented these results were presented here yesterday at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI).
For the trial, 20 patients with cedar pollen allergy were gathered in a cedar forest from 8 AM until 4 PM. They were randomized to receive oral fexofenadine 60 mg bid or oral placebo. From 8 AM until 10 AM, baseline data were recorded, and treatment began at 10 AM.
Assessment included ratings of sneezing, rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, itching of the eyes, and degree of interference with activities of daily living. Subjects recorded their symptoms on an hourly basis until 4 PM. In addition, cedar pollen count was recorded on an hourly basis.
The accumulated cedar pollen count on the day of the study was 24 grains/cm². There were no significant differences in baseline scores between the two groups.
In the placebo group, symptoms evaluated tended to worsen with the increase in accumulated pollen count. By contrast, in the fexofenadine group, symptoms evaluated improved after oral administration of the drug despite continued exposure to cedar pollen.
Within one hour of fexofenadine administration, the total nasal symptoms score was significantly (p<0.05) lower in the treated group (1.40) compared with the placebo group (3.30). Treatment with fexofenadine improved all individual symptom scores. All symptoms improved following one hour of treatment compared with placebo.
Fexofenadine treatment resulted in an improvement in the activities of daily living from the first hour after dosing compared with placebo. This effect was maintained throughout the time course.
Overall, the results demonstrate that fexofenadine 60 mg bid alleviates the symptoms of cedar pollen allergy, including sneezing, rhinorrhea, and nasal congestion. They also show that the efficacy of fexofenadine does not appear to be dependent on ethnic factors, thereby lending important support to the use of this antihistamine in Japan. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.